“Yes.” Corfino pressed a button on his handheld controller. The cover opened to reveal a platform which rose to above floor level and stopped. He pressed the same button and the platform sank back into the floor.
“What happens if you get an item without a serial number?”
Corfino shrugged his shoulders. “It doesn’t happen.”
“What if it did?”
The man thought for a moment. “I expect it would reject,” he answered, his tone diffident. “I can ask Chief Astin?”
“No, that’s okay. Thanks for your help, we don’t want to keep you from your work. I’m sure you’re busy.”
She could almost see his sigh of relief. “Well, yes, I am, actually, what with being a man short. I’ll leave you to it.”
“Lieutenant Wong and I won’t be long,” she called after him as he hurried away.
“Which monitor?” asked Tensan when the door of the machine room had closed behind them.
It was a good question. The architects had certainly made provision for redundancy, as they had all over the warship. Two banks of five monitors stood along opposite walls of the room, each with a chair fixed to the deck. Ten processors, all connected together, all feeding to the same computer system, all secure units; unless you knew how.
Allysha attached to a dataport and scanned mentally. “That one is Delta but we’ll need to check them all. The same thing might have been happening on the other devices. I certainly wouldn’t have always used the same machine. You start on the row over that side. I’ll start here. I’ll see if I can knock up a function to help us find it faster.”
She sat down and bent over the machine, looking for gaps in the log files, changes to patterns, replications; anything. As she delved she constructed the program to automate the search. She wriggled in her seat as she worked. She’d have to find a toilet and soon.
“This will speed things up.”
Legs crossed, she loaded the function and showed him how to run it. “Won’t be long,” she said over her shoulder as she jogged toward the far corner of the warehouse where she’d spied the familiar signage for
an ablutions block.
ChapterNineteen
Saahren collapsed into his seat on the shuttle and ran a hand over his face. “I swear, Karl, I’ve never been so glad to leave an official function. If one more female had simpered at me, winked at me, or offered to introduce me to her daughter…” He shuddered at the memory.
Captain Pedder chuckled. “Isn’t it amazing how stories spread? Perhaps you should take her with you.”
Saahren pulled a face. If only. “I don’t think she’d be very interested in that idea. Not yet.”
Both men were silent as the shuttle took off.
“You’re probably right,” said Pedder. “I saw her on the bridge before we left and suggested to her that you might want her company.” He inspected his fingernails. “She wasn’t impressed.”
“I’m told I just have to be patient, but sometimes it gets difficult.”
Especially when it was down to one more week.
****
Allysha let the door of the ablutions block close behind her. That was better. At least now she’d be able to think clearly. A big man carrying a pistol appeared at the end of the passage. He raised his arm.
She dived into the nearest row, Chief Werensa’s words echoing in her mind; if it’s unexpected, particularly if you’re somewhere there might be danger, move quickly and think later. The angry hiss-zip of an energy beam sizzled past where she’d been. Head tucked in, she rolled on her shoulder, bounced to her feet and ran. Approaching footsteps pounded on the floor. The row ended. She stopped, heart hammering. In front of her a wide corridor led right and left. Shelves loomed over her, floor to ceiling, both sides. Where to now? All these rows looked the same to her; she didn’t know where she was or, more to the point, where he was. He’d stopped running, too.Breathe, Allysha. Be calm and listen. And think.
Why was he doing this? That was easy. He was the man she was looking for, the person who’d done something; perhaps sent a message from a machine here. And what options did she have? The front door
was to the left, but that’s what he’d expect her to do. He was armed, clearly quite prepared to shoot her,
and Tensan as well. She’d have to get Tensan.
Her heart bounced. Tensan.
She should call for help, get security in here.
She took out her techpack and made a remote connection with the nearest InfoDroid port. Fuck.
Nothing in, nothing out. He’d isolated the warehouse. Corfino wouldn’t have had the authorization to do that. This must be Chief Astin. She could reverse it, but if he found her here, immersed in the machine’s functions, she was finished. Sweat beading on her upper lip, she strained to hear past the ever-present background hum. Over there, one aisle, two, away from her; a stealthy tread.
Maybe she could get out of here; make her way back to the warehouse doors or the goods transit and escape while he searched for her here? She’d passed through the central aisle when she ran up a row.
That route was probably less obvious than the aisle near the bulkhead. She’d have to go back up the row
she’d come down, then head right.
A barely heard footstep jolted her. He was closer. She needed a diversion. Her heart thudding, she dived into the machine and found the function that moved the autoselectors. Let’s see. Move to row M, three rows from where she was, remove an item from column twenty, cell ten—the furthest away and the
highest. Then in row O move to column fifteen cell eight, triggered when row M had finished. That should
keep him guessing. At least for a little while.
She shoved the techpack into her belt as the repulsors started up on the autoselector, a quiet hum several rows to her left. Holding her breath she sidled down the row. Time slowed down, each movement achingly drawn out. The end of the row seemed klicks away, even though the distance couldn’t be more than fifty meters. She reached the corner, crouched low and peered around the shelving
in both directions. All clear. The exit door wasn’t visible from here but she knew where it was, off to the right from the wide front aisle. To get there, she’d have to pass close by the machine room. Maybe Tensan was still there. She flitted along, in and out of each row, checking for pursuit, listening for sounds.
From the front aisle to the processor room was no more than twenty meters but it was the longest twenty meters Allysha had ever covered. She sucked in a lungful of air as she hit the door release and with a last glance over her shoulder stepped into the room. She froze. Tensan’s body lay face down in a pool of blood and brains. A gore-covered fire extinguisher lay beside him. Bile rose in her throat. She retched.Focus on yourself , Werensa’s voice echoed in her head.Fear, anger, bitterness, disgust. They are luxuries you cannot affordif you wish to survive . Saahren’s face rose in her mind. But he was gone, off the ship. She was on her own.
Focus. Focus on getting out of this. She couldn’t stay here; the door had no lock; she might as well offer herself up for target practice. His footsteps approached, soft but discernible in the silence. She’d never make it through the door; not in the open. The goods transit was an even worse option.
Allysha’s heart thumped against her ribs. Astin had to get rid of her. He’d already murdered once. He would hunt her down, but he’d have to do it quickly. Somebody would eventually notice he’d locked down this warehouse. She had to get out or disable him.Think, Allysha, think . What else could she use?
There had to be weapons in these shelves. She could find one if she could elude Astin. Handguns…
Emsons… Row C, column eighteen, cells seven to nine. But she’d need to keep him busy. Desperately, she plunged into the IS and instructed all the autoselectors to move up and down their rows at half height.
Then, with adrenalin-fuelled legs, she sprinted.
She sprang up and caught hold of the autoselector’s
sled as it powered down the row she’d chosen. No footfalls to warn him where she was. She dropped off at the central aisle, dodged down two rows and repeated the move. Row C. Now for column eighteen. She had nearly reached the spot when the man appeared, the gun held in both hands. With a crow of triumph he turned to face her, the muzzle of the Emson rising to aim at her chest.
She flung herself sideways off the sled just as Astin’s weapon fired. The energy bolt hissed past and splattered on the sled. Her body slammed into the shelving. A surge of sheer agony raced up her arm as she scrambled to get her footing. The autoselector careered on, rocking wildly, its controllers damaged by Astin’s shot. He threw himself backwards out of its path, jolting the pistol from his grasp. The sled crashed into the deck, a screeching jumble of scraping plasteel and broken arms, between him and Allysha.
Biting her lip to stifle a groan of pain she struggled around a corner. She’d hit the shelf hard. Her arm was probably broken. The slightest movement hurt.
“I heard you scream, missy,” Astin growled. “That arm hurts, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t be surprised if it was broken. I guess I’d better stop these things from whizzing around.”
Her heart pounded. The pain in her right arm screamed for attention. She held her wrist against her body and tried to regain her breath.Think, Allysha. Your life depends upon it.
He was moving, walking while the autoselectors whirred around the rows. They stopped. He must have used an override.
“Why don’t you come out and we’ll talk about this?” he said. “You’re a feisty one, right enough. And smart.”
She shoved down the pain as best she could and joined her mind to the IS. No time to override the isolation code. She searched through functions. Ah. The isolation didn’t preclude a broadcast to all hands. She’d be happy to talk; and the whole ship would be listening.
“What’s this about, Chief Astin?” Allysha said. “Why are you chasing me around the level thirty warehouse with a gun, and why did you kill Lieutenant Wong?”
“It’s not personal. I can’t run the risk of you finding anything out.”
“Finding out what? That you’ve been supplying the Human Rights League with weapons?”
She shifted her weight. Pain sliced up her arm. She squeezed her eyes shut but she couldn’t stifle a groan. He would have heard her. He’d be looking for her.Keep your eyes open, Allysha. Concentrate .
“Oh, so you know that, do you?”
“Yes, and so does the whole ship. This is going out as a general broadcast,”
“A general broadcast?” His own magnified voice boomed over the system. “How did you do that?” He snarled the words.
She crawled along the row as best she could with only one arm, trying to keep her broken arm against her body. Pain accompanied every move, fingers of agony tracing through her nerves. Surely by now somebody would know she was in trouble, would be coming to her aid. If he found her now, she’d have no chance.
Somewhere, Astin fired his weapon. The warehouse plunged into darkness.
Ears straining, Allysha scrambled to her feet. In the dark, her enhanced eyesight gave her the advantage.
Maybe she could even make it to the warehouse exit. She scurried along the aisle.
The lights came back on.
****
Saahren and Pedder stepped out of the shuttle and returned the deck officer’s salute.
“Anything to report?” Captain Pedder asked.
“No, Sir.” The commander grinned ruefully. “We’ve all been bored out of our brains.”
“Are you in the next group down?” asked Pedder.
“I am, Sir, looking forward to it.”
“Well, enjoy your break.”
Saahren hovered. “Care to join me for a drink, Karl?” he asked as they headed for the transit.
Allysha’s voice echoed through the hangar bay.
“What’s this about Chief Astin? Why are you chasing me around the level thirty warehouse with a gun, and why did you kill Lieutenant Wong?”
Saahren ran, his heart a frozen lump in his chest. Not again. She was supposed to be safe on the ship.
He leapt into a transit car, Pedder only a little behind him.
“Express to thirty hector, Arcturus,” Saahren said. “Where is Allysha now? And get me a copy of Chief Astin’s service record.”
“I am unable to find her, Grand Admiral,” said the IS, unmoved and unemotional, “But based on an extrapolation of last data,Allysha is on level thirty, in logistics store 30-Hector .The store is locked down.
The main access door is damaged .”
Pedder summoned a squad of troopers to meet them at the store room door.
“Astin served onAl Debaran when I was her captain,” Saahren said reviewing the Chief’s service record via his implant. “He’s a good man. Or at least, he was.”
“I’ve heard no complaints, either,” Pedder said. “To all intents an able, long serving CUO.”
The transit stopped. The two officers ran the twenty meters to where a small group of curious people, all from the logistics section, were gathered outside the door of warehouse 30-Hector.
“Chief? Chief Astin?” called a sergeant, banging on the door. “What’s happening in there? Open this door.”
He must have sensed the change in his audience’s demeanor. He turned around. And froze to attention, round eyed, when he saw the grand admiral and the ship’s CO, both in dress uniform.
“In here, help me.”
Saahren’s head snapped around. Allysha, somewhere inside. She screamed in pain and a male voice snarled. His nostrils flared. He’d hurt her. “Go about your business, Sergeant, and take these people with
you.”
As the sergeant shepherded his people away, a squad of troopers in battle armor replaced them.
“Lieutenant, get this door open. Cut through it if you have to,” Pedder said, “And find out if you can get snipers in there from anywhere else.”
Saahren stood to one side as the officer deployed troopers with laser cutters. He stilled himself, entering that core within him that shut out emotion and allowed him to deal with what was. She was alive; he would get her out. He thrust aside for later any thought of what he would do to Astin.
ChapterTwenty
Astin caught Alysha before she got to the door, bringing her down in a tackle that slammed the air out of her lungs and crushed her broken arm beneath her body. Unbearable pain burned through her nerves, scalded her brain. She screamed.
“Bitch!” He grabbed her hair and smashed her face into the floor. “You smart bitch! Get up!”
He grasped her collar with one huge hand and dragged her to her feet. “Get a message to the bridge commander, Sergeant,” called Astin. “Tell him I have the woman here and I’ve got a pistol. He’s to get me a shuttle so I can leave the ship. Now. Or I’ll kill her.”
He held her right shoulder in one hand, the other pointed the pistol at her head. Now she was a hostage.
But that was better than dead.Please, please somebody get me out of this. Colored lights sparkled in front of her eyes. Her nose throbbed; it felt like something that didn’t belong to her, stuck on the front of her face.
“I’m going to open the door, Chief. I want to see her.”
Saahren, his baritone voice calm. Her legs trembled. Saahren. Oh, thank the Spirit. Saahren.
“Admiral,” Astin said, a new note of respect in his voice. “Sorry, Sir. I can’t do that. I need that shuttle.”
“You’ll have to open the door to get out at some stage. How did you think you’d reach the shuttle?”
Astin’s fingers kneaded her shoulder. “You’ll let me leave?”
“I need to see her, then we’ll talk. You have a weapon and this is the only way in. There’s no risk. I don’t want her hurt any more than she has been.”
“All right. But only you. I’ll shoot anybody else.” The CUO tightened his grip on her, holding her in front of him like a shield as the door slid
aside.
Saahren, calm, face expressionless, stood alone, dressed in ceremonial white, palms exposed at his sides. The Confederacy Star glowed blue at his throat. She’d never been so pleased to see him, so relieved.
“Allysha?”
The pain pounded but she forced herself to smile for a moment.I love you . The words echoed in her head. “’M’ all right,” she mumbled. “Broken arm.”
“Let her go, Chief,” Saahren said.
Astin’s fingers clenched and unclenched on her arm. “Sorry, Sir. I can’t do that. Order me a shuttle.”
“And if I do that, you’ll leave her here?”
The Chief laughed, an ugly, humorless bray. “So you can blow me into space debris? I don’t think so.
But I’ll leave her somewhere for you to find.”
“Alive? Unharmed?”
“Yes. Of course. I didn’t want to hurt her. She left me with no choice.”
“I trust your word, Chief. You’ve served with me for many years—including when I captainedAl Debaran . You’re a good man, with an excellent reputation. But do you think your HRL friends will be so understanding?”
“Their argument is with the toe rags, not human women.”
“Do you know what I think, Chief?” Saahren said softly. “I think theywould leave her somewhere for me to find, but she would not be unharmed and she might not be alive. And I won’t let that happen, Chief.”
“Then I’ll have to kill her.”
“What do you think I’ll do to you if you kill her?” Saahren said, glacier cold. “Do you think it will be a swift shot between the eyes? Maybe a quick walk outside the ship? Oh, no. You know me, Chief. You know I keep my word. And believe me… if you take my lady from me, you… will… pay.”
He means it. He loves me. He’d told her often enough.
“So it’s true?” Astin croaked. “The rumors about you and her?”
“Yes, they’re true.”
“You were never one for women.”
“Not women, Chief. Just this one.”
Astin hesitated. She felt his indecision in his fingertips. She should break away, make her escape. But pain cast a red net that fuddled her thoughts.
The Iron Admiral: Deception Page 14